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budget posts

Compaq CQ61 does 15.6-inch screen and "real" processor for $399, wonders what all that netbook fuss was about

by Paul Miller posted Oct 13th 2009 at 12:45AM

It doesn't usually take much to identify the type of person that's suited for a netbook and the type of person that's suited for a budget laptop, but unfortunately not all of them can self select -- we're pretty sure a lot of folks who picked the former option would be pretty pleased to trade up for this here Compaq CQ61 right about now, the followup to the well-received Walmart-destroying CQ60. Compaq is becoming HP's "value" brand in the US, and we'd say the CQ61 is a pretty nice way to flex those wallet-friendly credentials for a wider audience than the Walmart set. It's built on a 2GHz AMD Sempron M100 processor, ATI Radeon HD 4200 graphics, 2GB of RAM and Windows 7 Home Premium, with a WXGA 15.6-inch screen, 160GB HDD and DVD burner to boot. HP was a bit cagey on what sort of battery life to expect out of the included 6-cell (our guess is not much), and of course the laptop won't be winning any beauty pageants, but it's a pretty nice score for the truly cash-strapped student or anyone else who needs a full-fledged laptop on the cheap without all the netbook compromises. Still too rich for your blood? Compaq's CQ4010 slim desktop weighs in with relatively similar specs and a $319 pricetag.

Gallery: Compaq CQ61 hands-on

Gallery: Compaq CQ61 press shots

Obama's proposed 2010 budget juices carriers for more cash

by Chris Ziegler posted Feb 28th 2009 at 10:41AM

There's no easy answer to erasing a staggering trillion-plus dollar deficit in a federal budget, but you've got to start somewhere -- and Obama's looking at the nation's wireless carriers as cash cows just waiting to be milked. The President's proposed budget for 2010 calls for an increase in spectrum license user fees from $50 million to $200 million, with further increases to $550 million over the course of the next decade, all of which would be on top of the billions carriers have already shelled out in spectrum auctions. A good way to bring in some extra cash? Yeah, probably, but considering that carriers will be more than happy to pass the increases on to consumers, let's just be straight: it's a tax.

[Via El Reg]

NASA won't dampen exploratory spirit of Mars rovers

by Darren Murph posted Mar 25th 2008 at 1:41PM

Back in November, we knew things weren't looking up for the twin Mars rovers, but it seems that both Spirit and Opportunity will still be doing their respective thangs after a letter foreshadowing their doom was rescinded. Reportedly, the entity was tasked to slash $4 million from the project's budget just yesterday, which would have forced Spirit into hibernation and limited Opportunity's opportunities by mandating that commands be sent up every other day (versus everyday now). As it stands, NASA has issued a confirmation that neither creature will be affected, but given the apparent belt-tightening, we're curious as to whether Scarecrow will still see liftoff next year.

[Via Physorg]

Acer kicks out Extensa 4620 laptops on the cheap

by Darren Murph posted Dec 21st 2007 at 5:01PM

Sure, Acer may be marketing its Extensa lineup to small business owners, but there's nothing that says bargain hunters can get in on one, too. The 14.1-inch Extensa 4620 comes loaded with Windows XP Professional (sorry, Vista aficionados), 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, dual-layer DVD burner, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, gigabit Ethernet, a 56k modem, GMA 3100 graphics chipset and a six-cell Li-ion good for around two hours. The first of the two 4620 iterations (that'd be the 6294, break out the pencils!) sports an Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 CPU, while the 4620-4054 rocks a T2310. According to Acer, both of the lappies are available now throughout North America for $799 and $699, respectively.

[Via I4U News]

Ingram Micro's $459 24-inch V7 monitor is an HDMI oddity

by Thomas Ricker posted Dec 18th 2007 at 6:32AM

Ingram Micro just kicked out an oddball, budget monitor under their V7 brand. How budget? Very. The 24-inch D24W33 has an MSRP of $459. That takes home a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution, 1,000:1 reported contrast, 250cd/m2 brightness, 160-degree viewing angles, quick 2 millisecond response, and choice of analog VGA or HDMI inputs. Yes, HDMI... no DVI or DisplayPort in sight. So if you want a rich, digital link from your laptop or PC you'll have to get a DVI to HDMI cable and burn that HDMI port. Too bad, 'cause that leaves nothing for your game console or other HDMI video source. Dell's own budget $469 E248WFP features the same 24-inches and analog VGA input but with HDCP-enabled DVI, a slower (5-ms) response, but brighter (400cd/m2) image. So what will you do when it ships in January?

Fujitsu unveils 15.4-inch LifeBook V1010 for the budget-minded

by Darren Murph posted Oct 9th 2007 at 2:03AM

Although it's no $300 Gateway, Fujitsu's LifeBook V1010 does manage to come with a bit more oomph than the aforementioned cheapie. Designed for "price-conscious markets," this machine can be had starting at $799, and it offers up a 15.4-inch WXGA panel, 1.86GHz Intel T2130 processor, Windows XP, GMA 950 graphics set, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 120GB SATA drive, 59k modem / Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g support, a dual-layer DVD writer, and a six-cell Li-ion rated for 2.25-hours of usage. Granted, you can spend more than eight Benjamins if you'd like, but at least the base configuration won't break the bank too badly.

[Via Laptoping]

NEC busts out four new LaVie laptops -- frumpiness abounds

by Paul Miller posted Apr 16th 2007 at 10:07AM

Sorry NEC, but we're just totally not feeling this look. You weren't exactly winning design awards when we saw some of these last year, but now we just feel sorry for you. Granted, this new lineup of LaVie laptops from NEC falls squarely in the budget sphere, with a good many weakling Intel and AMD processors between them, but the top-of-the-line LaVie C (pictured) is no slouch. It sports up to a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T7200 processor, Blu-ray drive, Radeon X1600 graphics with 512MB of VRAM and HDMI out. The 15.4-inch screen comes in WXGA (1280 x 800 and WXGA+ (1440 x 900) flavors. Other members of the new lineup include the 12.1-inch LaVie J, with a 1.06GHz Core 2 Duo U7500 processor and XGA screen, the LaVie L "Advanced Type," which does the LaVie C form factor with lesser specs, and the LaVie L "Basic Type," which brings its own form factor and takes things about as basic as they get. No word on price or release date for any of these, but we're not so sure we care. The other models are pictured after the break.

Continue reading NEC busts out four new LaVie laptops -- frumpiness abounds

Toshiba rolls out six new entrants in Satellite A205 / P205 lineups

by Darren Murph posted Apr 16th 2007 at 3:17AM

Apparently Toshiba has been shoring up refreshes to its Satellite series of laptops, as the company has recently decided to bust out six new Labelflash-compliant models simultaneously to really get your head spinning when wading through the options. Up first is the trio of models in the P205 lineup, which represents "the company's latest 17-inch (1,440 x 900-pixel resolution) laptop line with a starting price of less than $1,000." The S637, S6267, and S6287 models all sport sub-2GHz Intel processors, up to 2GB of RAM, dual-layer SuperMulti drives, Vista Home Premium, 120GB to 200GB of hard drive space, WiFi, and Harmon Kardon speakers as well. The 15.4-inch A205 series includes the S4577, S4617, and S4639, and these models sport a 1,280 x 800 resolution, optional webcam, 802.11n, sub-1.7GHz Intel Core 2 Duo chips, up to 2GB of RAM, dual-layer DVD burner, integrated speakers, biometric scanner, NVIDIA's GeForce Go 7300 graphics, and Windows Vista runnin' the show. Click on to the links below for a bit more detail on the specifications, and in case any variety particularly catches your eye, you'll be delighted to know that the whole litter is available right now.

[Via LaptopMag]

HP releases no-frills HP 510 notebook

by Evan Blass posted Mar 29th 2007 at 4:27PM

Not everyone is down with latest and greatest hardware -- or they just can't afford it -- and it's definitely not the dual-core-and-SLI crowd HP is targeting with its new HP 510 laptop. The 15-incher features just about what you'd expect from a $565 notebook computer, so specs like 'Celeron M.' 'integrated graphics,' and '1GB max RAM' should come as little surprise. You're still getting all the basics here, though, including a 60GB hard drive, b/g WiFi, a passable WXGA resolution and 512MB of RAM, and a DVD combo drive. Not one we'd show off to the ladies or anything, but it'll get the job done, and it's available immediately.

[Via PC Launches]

Pentagon plans ultrasonic curtain to muffle loud tanks

by Darren Murph posted Feb 28th 2007 at 3:43PM

Although Macroswiss' giraffe pole could certainly lend our soldiers a hand in peeking across enemy lines, someone with a good bit of execution authority would rather we take a more direct approach to encroaching on the baddies. A Pentagon-based budget layout has revealed plans for an "ultrasonic curtain" to be constructed in a presumed attempt to "significantly" muffle vehicles and loud machinery in order to get our troops closer to foes without being noticed. While the actual construction plans aren't entirely laid out, the device will purportedly use "directed ultrasound technology to enable the capability to significantly reduce sound emissions from large scale tactical military hardware," and they hope to lower noise by "at least 30-decibels" in order to allows troops to operate in close proximity to the enemy without being detected aurally. Of course, cracking trees and unforeseen sneezes could still remain a problem, but there are already plans in place to "validate the theoretical models in laboratory settings," estimate the power required to sustain such a sound shield, and to design a finished product that can cover "a truck-sized vehicle." Sadly, it doesn't seem that this project will be integrating the invisibility cloak already discovered, so a flurry of bubble boy jokes is bound to arise.

Wired]

Everex StepNote VA4101M: first Vista-equipped laptop under $500

by Darren Murph posted Feb 3rd 2007 at 9:16AM

The barrage of notebooks flying our way with Windows Vista pre-installed and ready to "wow" has included a rather wide range of models and choices, but we've yet to come across a pre-fab unit sporting Microsoft's latest OS and demanded less than $500 -- until now. The Everex StepNote VA4101M is the proud owner of a $498 pricetag, a 15.4-inch WXGA display, and Vista Home under the hood, but what this unit lacks in price, it makes up for in weak componentry. Users will likely be let down by the paltry 1.46GHz Intel Celeron M 410 processor, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, 60GB hard drive, and lack of Bluetooth, but hey, you get what you pay for. Notably, Everex did manage to include a dual-layer DVD burner, 802.11b/g, Ethernet, 56k modem, VGA out, and a trio of USB 2.0 ports. So while you won't buy much horsepower for half a grand these days, Everex's latest StepNote can get your feet wet with Vista without breaking the bank, but waiting on that CPU to catch up with your clicking finger just might negate any value that was here.

[Via Laptoping]

Exemode's budget-friendly DV572 SD camcorder

by Darren Murph posted Dec 27th 2006 at 10:17AM

Exemode leaves no question about who it's catering to with its uber-cheap, budget-friendly offerings, but we're not complaining with doing the camcorder thang on the cheap. While the firm has been down the pocket-sized road before, not to mention offering up quite the unique MP3 player, this five-megapixel camcorder sports the more typical handheld design. Offering up SD-based recording over the HDD / miniDV approaches, it can handle SD cards up to 2GB in size (sorry, no SDHC support here), and captures the good ole times in 640 x 480 MPEG4 at 30fps. Additionally, it can take stills in JPEG, record audio in WAV, features an (admittedly paltry) 4x digital zoom, rocks USB 2.0 / AV connectivity, and reportedly puts out just under seven hours of battery life. The best apart about this otherwise ho hum offering is indeed the price, as you aren't likely to be too disappointed after dropping just ¥14,800 ($125).

[Via Impress]

V7 offers up budget-minded Navigator 1000 GPS unit

by Darren Murph posted Dec 21st 2006 at 5:51AM

V7's making sure you know exactly what its target market is by announcing a budget-minded GPS unit to accompany that $349 LCD panel it just tossed out. Entering a fairly saturated entry-level GPS market, the Navigator 1000 features a 3.5-inch touchscreen monitor, 320 x 240 resolution, turn-by-turn directions in 23 robotically-spoken languages, an SD slot, SiRF Star III GPS receiver, photo viewer, rechargeable Li-ion battery pack, MP3 / AVI / MPEG4 playback, and even mounting hardware to rig it up in your ride. Distributed by Ingram Micro, this unit is pre-loaded with maps of the US and Canada, sports "1.8 million POIs," and comes with a stylus pen to keep those fingerprints from taking over your screen. Although you won't find Bluetooth / handsfree functionality here, the Navigator 1000 should prove to be a fairly solid GPS unit for around $340.

V7 kicks out budget 22-inch R22W02 LCD monitor

by Darren Murph posted Dec 20th 2006 at 11:18PM

Just in case the world didn't have quite enough low-end, questionably built LCD monitors, we've got one more comin' down the pike, as V7 -- formerly "known" as Videoseven -- unveils its R22W02 monitor. This 22-inch LCD has a "focus on value," which presumably means it takes a hit in the quality department, but regardless, it sports a 16:9 aspect ratio, on-screen controls, 700:1 contrast ratio, 300 cd/m2 brightness, 1,650 x 1,050 resolution, 5-millisecond response time, VGA / DVI input, and a less-than-attractive black / silver color scheme. No, you won't soon be boasting about this thing to your pals, nor will find anything above marginal specs, but you will get a (relatively) large widescreen panel for "under $349."

Magellan RoadMate 2200T GPS unit reviewed

by Darren Murph posted Dec 18th 2006 at 10:25AM

Let's face it, getting lost trying to find grandmother's house is no way to enjoy your holiday travels, but considering the coinage you're dropping to drive there, financing a GPS unit could be an issue. Enter Magellan's RoadMate 2200T, which provides a no-frills alternative to the fancy (and pricey) navigation units also out there. While the screen size and list of extra are both short of breathtaking, reviewers at GPS Magazine were thoroughly impressed at the value presented in this $400 device. Noted as a "strong performer," the crew admired the newly-revamped routing engine, and found that its Exit POI, Route Exclusion, and SmartDetour functions were all well implemented. Also, they found the actual map screen "among the best they'd seen," stating that it presented information in a useful and easy to read manner. However, a low-end unit typically drops the ball in at least a few areas, and the 2200T was found to have an "essentially useless" MP3 player, as it can only be used when not navigating your routes, a volume control "awkwardly buried in the menu system," and text-to-speech performance that doesn't live up to the TomToms and Garmins of the world. Regardless, the RoadMate 2200T was deemed satisfactory in the areas that matter most, and while we'd still eye a few other options before making any snap judgments, these folks felt it was simply "the best GPS in its price category."